Free performance Psychology Resources

ACT Monitor — Waterstone Psychology
Free Resource

find clarity about how it happened to do it differently next time

"What we resist, persists. What we accept, transforms."

We need to pay attention to our thoughts and feelings to understand their impact and to work with them. This worksheet helps you identify your thoughts, their impacts, and the most effective strategies for change.

Your entries stay private to this device — nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

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Do this exercise

Six-column exercise: Trigger, Feeling, Thought, Core Value, Strategy, and Action.

Trigger Feeling Thought Core Value Defusion Action
Entry 1

Describe the circumstance.

What emotions and sensations?

Define the thought.

Why does this matter?

What strategies are helpful for removing the “bite” from it?

What’s the plan for next time?

Entry 2

Describe the circumstance.

What emotions and sensations?

Define the thought.

Why does this matter?

What strategies are helpful for removing the “bite” from it?

What’s the plan for next time?

Entry 3

Describe the circumstance.

What emotions and sensations?

Define the thought.

Why does this matter?

What strategies are helpful for removing the “bite” from it?

What’s the plan for next time?

Visualization in Competition — Waterstone Psychology
Free Resource

Using Visualization to Enchance Competition Performance

Adapted from: Volgemute, Krauksta, and Vazne (2006). LASE J Sport Sci.

Use this worksheet to mentally rehearse your competitive environment, then replace typical responses with your greatest performance imagery.

Your entries stay private to this device — nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

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Do this exercise

Two-part exercise: typical competition experience, then your greatest performance.

Part 1 — Typical Competition Experience

Approach a place, through imagery, where you have recently competed or have vivid memories of a competition. Allow yourself to experience the sensations that may accompany a competitive experience for you. That is, if you typically get nervous or psyched up before competition, allow yourself to feel those emotions.

List some typical emotions or feelings that you experience before competing:

Imagine yourself at different times before competition, making it as real and vivid as possible. If you typically have a pre-competition routine, imagine yourself following the steps of that routine up to the point where you are competing. Remember to use all your senses. Write down in the space below what you typically do before competition:

Competition Time: imagine yourself in an actual competition situation, doing what you would typically do, with your typical emotional and physical reactions.


Part 2 — Greatest Performance

Now, redo the exercise with your greatest performance in mind.

List the emotions that you will experience before competing:

Imagine yourself following the steps of your pre-competition routine up to the point where you are competing. Remember to use all your senses. Write down in the space below what you will do before competition:

Competition Time: imagine yourself in an actual competition situation, with your updated imagery.

Waterstone Psychology · Reflective Exercise

Values Inventory

Select the values that matter most to you, rate how important each one feels, and watch them form a personal word cloud — then explore three small ways to live each one today. Tap to begin.

"When we know what we stand for, we know how to stand."

Values are the qualities of being and doing that give your life direction. Unlike goals, they aren't finished — they're lived. Review the list below and select the values that feel most alive and important to you right now. Aim for around ten, but trust your instinct.

Step 1 · Choose your values

Click any word to select or deselect it.

0 selected

Step 2 · Rate their importance

Use each slider (1 – 10) to indicate how important the value feels right now. Your ratings shape the size and prominence of words in your cloud.

Select values above to begin rating them.

Step 3 · Your personal word cloud

More important values appear larger, bolder, and more prominent — just like a true word cloud.

Step 4 · Three ways I can improve this value today

For each selected value, write three small, concrete actions you could take in the next 24 hours to live it more fully.

Select a value above to begin reflecting.

Would you like support translating your values into lived practice?

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Goal Hierarchy Exercise

Based on Angela Duckworth's Grit. Map your goals across three tiers — ultimate purpose, the projects that serve it, and the daily actions that feed those projects — so you can drop the distractions and focus on what matters.

Step 1
Brain Dump

Write down everything you want to do, achieve, or work on. Add as many or as few as you need — don't filter.

Entries filled: 0 Top 5 selected: 0 / 5
Step 2
Circle Your Top 5

Tap the star next to your five highest-priority goals.

 

Stars live next to each entry in Step 1 — open that step and tap the ☆ beside up to five goals.

Step 3
Eliminate the Rest

Everything you didn't star becomes your avoid-at-all-cost list.

Spread your energy across too many pursuits and none of them get oxygen.

Avoid-at-all-cost

  • Your unstarred goals will appear here.
Step 4
Map the Hierarchy

Tag each Top 5 goal as Top, Mid, or Bottom and connect each one upward.

Top = lifelong "why" · Mid = the projects · Bottom = daily tasks. If a task doesn't connect upward, drop it.

Star at least one goal above to begin mapping.

Live Hierarchy

Top The "Why" — your ultimate purpose
No top-level goals yet.
Mid The "What" — projects and mediums
No mid-level goals yet.
Bottom The "How" — daily actions
No bottom-level goals yet.
Goal-setting exercise

SMART Goals Worksheet

Turn vague intentions into concrete plans. Define each goal so it is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound — then track what you'll actually do next.

Reference

What makes a goal SMART?

S — SpecificClear, concrete, and well-defined. What exactly will you do?
M — MeasurableHow will you know you've achieved it? What's the evidence?
A — AchievableRealistic given your time, energy, and resources.
R — RelevantConnected to your values and what truly matters to you.
T — Time-boundAnchored to a deadline or review date.
Your goals (0 defined)

Define your SMART goals

Add one card per goal. Use the prompts under each letter to sharpen your thinking.

Thinking Traps Worksheet

Cognitive distortions are habitual, automatic ways of thinking that bend reality and fuel difficult emotions. Use this worksheet to spot them, challenge them, and build a more balanced response.

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response." — Viktor Frankl
1. Reference — The Common Thinking Traps

Skim the list below. Most people lean on two or three favourites under stress.

All-or-NothingSeeing things in black-and-white categories. "If I'm not perfect, I've failed."
OvergeneralizationOne negative event = a never-ending pattern. "I always mess this up."
Mental FilterDwelling on a single negative detail; the rest disappears.
Discounting the Positive"That doesn't count" — rejecting good experiences as flukes.
Jumping to ConclusionsMind-reading or fortune-telling without evidence.
CatastrophizingExpecting the worst-case scenario; magnifying problems.
Emotional Reasoning"I feel it, so it must be true."
Should StatementsRigid rules that produce guilt or resentment.
LabellingTurning a behaviour into an identity. "I'm a loser."
Personalization & BlameHolding yourself (or others) wholly responsible for things outside your control.
2. Notice — The Situation & Automatic Thought
3. Name — Identify the Thinking Trap(s) Hold Ctrl/Cmd to choose more than one.
4. Challenge — Examine the Evidence
5. Reframe — A More Balanced Thought
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